[_dave_]

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Here is the list of HDs offered... what exactly does teh 7200 and 10k #s mean? is that the speed that it will access the stored info?

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Much like a CD drive, inside a hard disk there is a bit that spins around where the data is stored.

the 7200 and 10k numbers are the number of times that platter spins per minute - thus, the faster it spins, the faster you can get data off the hard disk.

on the downside, faster spinning drives make more noise, use more energy and are slightly hotter. that said, they're better for what you want, and i suspect that the cost is not much of an issue.

the one that you want is:

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320GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 160GB WD Raptor SATA 1.5Gb/s 10,000 RPM HDDs) [add $610 or $16/month1] for database purposes / game installations


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in addition to that, you [ QUOTE ]
will certainly[/b] want to buy one of the slower, larger hard disks for storing the operating system, a database backup, video and stuff. that'd be where the 320gb disk would come in handy.
also another 320GB+ external HDD for more backups

other comments:
a) 4gb of ram is not going to give you much better performance than 2gb.
b) getting two 8800gtx video cards is ridiculously excessive for what you're likely to use it for.

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FYP [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

For the most part, I agree. Given the price, I'd go 4GB over 2... but I'd sooner get 8GB and Vista x64. That *will* make a difference on large databases, but only when a x64 postgreSQL for windows is available, IIRC not yet.

EDIT: The additional price for the second Raptor is ridiculous... much more economical to not buy any Raptors from Dell, just a 320GB or whatever.. then fit a pair in "Performance RAID" mode for database use yourself aftermarket... but you'd have to be comfortable doing so.

dave.